Strangers In A Stranger Land
by BlackShaftedArrow
Summary: Halt and Will suddenly find themselves in Bree, and they meet Strider and the hobbits. The two Rangers are brought to Rivendell where they join the Fellowship on their quest to save Middle-Earth. NO SLASH
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Lord of The Rings or Ranger's Apprentice; all rights to J.R.R. Tolkien and John Flanagan!**

The two figures, hooded and cloaked, seemed to blend in with the background of the Prancing Pony Inn. The dull green and gray mottled cloaks disrupted their shady figures, making them seem to flicker in and out of focus, and the deep cowls concealed their faces completely. The figure on the right, the one who seemed to be younger, had his left leg cocked over the arm of his chair and was slouching comfortably.

The figure on the left turned his head slightly to face the other and seemed to raise one eyebrow. "I really wish you wouldn't do that." The voice was low, but also teasing and gentle.

"Oh, come on, Halt. We've been riding all day. Can't we just relax for a while?" The voice coming from underneath the cowl was young and playful.

"And we don't know where we are." Halt inclined his head to the table at the opposite side of the room, the one nearest the fire, but also secluded in its own corner. A shady figure sat there, smoking peacefully on his pipe. The man in the corner also had his hood up, the cowl of his cloak hiding his face, but not completely. Suddenly the embers in his pipe flared and the light lit his eyes briefly, just long enough to see their steel gray color.

"This man…" His voice was low and close to inaudible. "Is a Ranger."

"But what is he doing here in Redmont?"

"Are we in Redmont?" Halt's question sounded as if he already knew the answer, so he didn't answer.

As the younger figure stood to approach the man, Halt's hand shot out and grasped the younger man's wrist. "Wait, Will."

Will followed his master's gaze to two small people, who appeared to be children, exchange a few quiet words with the innkeeper. Even though they were a good distance away from them, Halt picked up a few of the words.

"rangers…dangerous folk…name is, never heard…known as Strider."

That was enough to pique the ranger's interests and he carefully pushed Will gently back into his chair. It was nothing new for rangers to be considered dangerous, but the name Strider had not rung a bell inside of Halt's head, and he knew all the fifty rangers by name.

The dark-haired child who had asked the man repeated the name softly to himself. Though the child's back was facing Halt and Will, he could see a sudden change in the young person's attitude, and there was an abrupt evil discharge in the room. Then the dark-haired child, who he had heard been called 'Frodo', stood abruptly, an alarmed look on his face, and shoved through the crowd to where one of his companions was talking and drinking with a few of the men.

"Baggins? Sure I know a Baggins! He's over there. Frodo Baggins! He's my second cousin once removed on his mother's side and my third cousin twice removed on his father's side, if you follow me." Another child, as it appeared to be, was speaking loudly, an accent that kind of sounded like a Scotti tingeing his voice.

"Pippin!" Frodo shouts just before tripping and flying back at least a foot and slamming down on his back.

Halt's eyes darted from who he believed was Strider, who was sitting up straighter now and transfixed by the scene, then back to Frodo, whose arm was extended in the air, one finger pointing upward. He barely caught a flash of gold as a shining ring slipped onto the child's finger and he disappeared from sight.

Strider practically jumped out of his seat, an alarmed look on his face, but stayed put for at least five more seconds until Frodo reappeared.

The atmosphere in the bar had changed drastically. Now people were gasping and murmuring about the sudden disappearance of the boy.

As soon as Frodo was visible again, Strider was out of his seat, and, in a few swift strides, had grabbed Frodo by the collar of his shirt and was dragging him up a nearby staircase.

"You draw far too much attention to yourself, Mister_ Underhill_." He hissed, a strange accent evident in his low voice.

Halt rose from the table and made his way across the room, followed by Will, who dodged the three companions of Frodo who were grabbing various objects and charging upstairs.

"Wait, you three." Will said before Halt could stop him. "Do you really think you'll be able to rescue your friend with those?" He gestured at the objects they were holding. They lowered their stools and candlesticks and looked quizzically at him.

"And who are you, might I ask?" One of them said. The boy looked almost identical to Pippin, except for a few minor differences.

"Hush, Merry. Don't talk to them. These men could be dangerous." Pippin said, elbowing Merry gently in the ribs.

"If you are dealing with a ranger," Halt said, casting a glance around the room, "you will need more than a few candlesticks to rescue your friend."

"And I'm guessing you're wanting to help?" The third, blond-haired boy asked skeptically.

Will opened his mouth to speak, but Halt cut him off. "Exactly." He glanced meaningfully down at the enormous longbow in his left hand.

"Do we have a choice?"

"We won't hurt you or your friend, trust me." Halt was very interested in what was going on, and he wanted to know more, whether these children wanted him to or not. Whatever it was they were doing seemed like it was a secret, and they would guard it with their lives.

"Oh, all right. But I don't want any trouble from you." The blond one said warningly, raising the stool he was carrying menacingly.

A ghost of a smile touched the ranger's lips. "Fair enough."

**Well, I hope everyone liked it! And remember, be ugly honest with me, but just no flames, please. Thank you! And remember, reviews are GREATLY appreciated! It doesn't even take that long! And please let me know if I got their characters right, I really want to hear what you guys have to say.**

**Arrow :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or Lord of the Rings; all rights to John Flanagan and J.R.R. Tolkien.**

**WARNING: The paragraph I bolded is a slight spoiler for book 8. That is the only warning for this chapter. Oh, and the rest of the chapter has no spoilers, only the bolded part.**

**Okay, one more thing. Some of this is book and movie versions, so just kinda bear with me, okay? Thankee!**

The two Rangers led the way up the winding staircase and paused right before stepping into the short hallway adjoining it.

Will's keen eyes barely caught the corner of Strider's cloak disappearing inside a doorway. Then the door closed softly. Halt and Will crept down the hallway until they stood right in front of the door. Both Rangers had arrows knocked to their bows, and, in one fell swoop, Halt twisted the knob and shoved the door open with his shoulder before jumping out of the way.

The apprentice heard the slithering sound of steel on leather and he immediately knew the man was a swordsman. Strange. He thought. Rangers only use bows. Well, except for Gilan, of course.

Will's thoughts went to Halt's former apprentice, who was an expert swordsman and archer. Before being trained as a ranger, Gilan had already had several years of practice with a sword, and the corps commandant as well as Halt both knew it would be a shame to waste the talent he already possessed. So they had let him continue in his training with a sword, as well as his ranger training.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as Halt stepped through the doorway, at the same time bringing his bow back to half draw.

But Halt's attention was almost immediately lost when he caught a glimpse of the room before him. **The dark wood of the ceiling and the roughly polished pine floors reminded him, strangely, of his room back in Dun Kilty. Though the furniture was more rustic and definitely not as royal as it had been in his own bedroom, he vaguely felt as if he had already been in this place before. ****_Strange._**** He thought. He remembered little about his past, and very rarely did it decide to resurface inside his head.** But he shook the thoughts from his mind as the swordsman before him lowered his blade, a grimace on his face that seemed to say he should have expected this.

Out of the corner of his eye, Halt saw Frodo standing there, looking more terrified than ever.

Strider seemed to be on edge but yet still calm and in control of the situation, despite the massive longbow with the sharp broadhead aimed at his heart.

"Release him." That was all Halt's lowered voice said, and it showed the taller Ranger with the sword that the man was all business.

Will stepped aside quietly, knowing Halt had the situation in control, and let the three children shove past him and rush over to their friend, where they began to chatter nervously.

"Thieves and brigands. I should have known." Strider's voice had an accent Will did not recognize, but it was not thick enough to not be able to clearly discern the man's words. His voice was quiet and soft, with a hint of annoyment in it. _Actually_, Will thought to himself, _it sounded rather patient._

"Thieves?" He answered spitefully. "You are the one kidnapping a helpless child."

Apparently, Halt thought, he has not noticed the hidden enormity of the situation. He unobtrusively hammered his foot down on Will's, trying to get him to shut up. He would have elbowed his apprentice square in the ribs, but the heavy longbow in his hands hindered him from the action.

"Children?" The blond-haired child exclaimed, forgetting about the danger he and his friends were in for the time being. "I would have you know that we are full-grown hobbits, ranger." He said it indignantly, and Will decided not to question him as to what hobbits were. He assumed they were some sort of miniature person, judging by the looks of them.

Will inclined his head in apology before turning back to Strider, who was still staring at them expectantly.

"Sam!" Frodo hissed before whispering a few quiet words into the other's ear. Sam nodded and both of them turned to watch the scene unfold before them.

"You four, get out of here." Halt ordered, his eyes not leaving the taller man before him.  
>As the four hobbits made their way towards the door nervously, Strider seemed to tense apprehensively, not wanting them to leave.<p>

"Frodo, wait."

The hobbit froze, turning around to gaze at Strider. "How do you know my name?" He asked curiously, almost afraid to hear the answer.

But, instead of answering, Strider only reached inside his jerkin and produced a crisp white envelope. He extended it out in Frodo's direction.

"From Gandalf," was all he said.

Frodo took a hesitant step forward, slowly reaching out to retrieve it, wondering what this could all be about.

Halt pulled the draw slightly farther back on his bow, anticipating the violence he was sure was about to ensue.

Time seemed to fly in slow motion as the hobbit carefully took the letter from Strider and broke the seal. He slid a piece of fine white parchment from the envelope and looked up at the three men before him before quickly scanning the words on the page.

The gray-bearded ranger pulled his bow back to full draw, expecting some kind of treachery on the other man's part. He just began to realize how long he'd been holding the draw like this, and he felt his muscles begin to tremble.

"It's from Gandalf." Frodo murmured, letting his three companions read over his shoulder as he continued to gaze at the paper.

Halt let the tension in his bow relax a little, sensing that this…Gandalf…was a person to trust.

After a few minutes, the four hobbits looked back up to stare suspiciously at Strider. "How do we know you're the one Gandalf is talking about here?"

But, before Strider could answer the question, a shrill scream pierced the night air. Frodo's eyes went wide, and the unidentified ranger's head shot up to attention, immediately on the alert. He spoke urgently. "You can no longer wait for the wizard, Frodo. They're coming."

**Okay, sorry. That was a really short chapter. But anyways, I know that this part was a whole hodge-podge of book and movie stuff, but that's probably how its gonna be, 'cause I really like the book version and the movie version. I'll probably just use whichever one works best for the scene. Anyways, thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW! :D**

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_**horseyyay: Oh, thanks for pointing that out! And I'm glad you're reading the RA books. Oh, and thanks for sending those two to me. I really appreciate that. Thanks for reading and reviewing! :D**_

_**Ranger Turien: Oh, good. I was hoping I kept the characters in-character. Ugh. That was a little redundant there. Oh well. Thanks for reading and reviewing! :D**_

_**Smirkwood Elf: Oh, thank you! Good, that makes two people who say I got the characters right. Thanks so much! Humph. And you shouldn't be on book three. You should be halfway finished with them all by now. Or completely finished. Anyways, you've started The Icebound Land, right? Good. :P :) Thanks for reading and reviewing! :D**_

**THANK YOU ALL!**

_**Arrow :D**_


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